Power Sources for the Internet-of-Things: IoT Markets and Strategies

Deployments of sensors and processors for the Internet-of-Things (IoT) are creating huge new opportunities for manufacturers of power source devices. Because of IoT, power devices such as thin-film and printed batteries, energy harvesting modules, small flexible photovoltaics panels and thermoelectric sources, which have enjoyed marginal revenues up to now, may begin generating hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenues.

However, suppliers of IoT power sources, as well as the semiconductor industry more generally face significant uncertainties in the IoT space. Not only is future of the IoT itself unclear, but also how the IoT “power infrastructure” will shape up technologically is a great unknown.

The objective of this report is to identify where the money will be made and lost in the emergent IoT power source business. It begins with an assessment of the power requirements of the various devices that NanoMarkets believes will form the “things” in the IoT. These include sensor networks, MCUs/MPUs and tagging devices, for example. The report continues by considering how established technologies such as batteries will adapt to new IoT opportunities and whether emerging technologies such as energy harvesting and thermoelectric power sources will find their first big markets as the result of IoT.

The report explores the opportunities for all industry sectors that will be impacted by the development of new power sources for the IoT. In particular we examine how leading battery companies, chipmakers, OEMs and others are preparing for the business opportunities in the IoT power source space. The report also discusses the strategies of eight firms that NanoMarkets believes will shape the market for power sources for the IoT over the next decade.

We believe that this report will be essential reading for business development and marketing executives in the battery, energy harvesting, RFID, sensors, photovoltaics and semiconductor industries, as well as the investment community. In addition to providing a thorough analysis of the IoT power source markets, this report also provides detailed eight-year forecasts of power sources for the IoT in both volume and value terms and with break outs by power source types.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary

Objectives and Scope of this Report

Methodology and Information Sources

Plan of this Report

What the IoT Needs: Summary of Power Source Requirements for the IoT

Hardware/ Software Strategies for Lowering Power Consumption in the IoT

Power Sources for the IoT: A Summary of Opportunities

MPUs and MCUs

Battery Makers

Novel Energy Harvesting Devices

Novel Energy Harvesting Devices

Opportunities for Start-Ups

Eight Companies to Watch in the IoT Power Source Market

Summary of Eight-Year Forecasts of IoT Power Sources

Chapter One: Introduction

Internet of Things: Classification of Applications

Internet-of-Things: The Very Need

New Methods to Power Internet-of-Things Applications

Key Global Market for the IoT Power Source Industry

Key Drivers of IoT Power Source industry

Favorable Factors for the Industry

Key Issues Faced by the Industry

Trends in IoT Power Source industry

Potential Applications

Commercial Application Trends

Chapter Two: Power Requirements for the Internet-of-Things

Power Requirements for Sensors in the IoT

Variations by Type of Sensor

Wireless Sensor Networking Standards: Implications for Power Sources

Power Sources Used in WSNs: Current and Future

Role of MCUs/MPUs in the IoT

Power Requirements for MCUs/MPUs in the IoT

Power Sources for MCUs/MPUs in the IoT

RFIDs and Other Tagging Devices in the IoT

RFIDs and Ambient Energy in the IoT

Key Points Made in this Chapter

Available

Chapter Three: IOT Power Sources: Markets and Eight-Year Forecasts

Inductive Power Sources for IOT

Current and Future Use of Inductive Power Sources in the IoT

Market Opportunities for Inductive Power Sources for IoT

Key Suppliers of Inductive Power Sources for IoT

Eight-Year Forecast of Inductive Readers and Power Sources for the IoT

Eight-Year Forecast of Inductive Readers and Power Sources for the IoT

Batteries for IoT

Thin-Film Batteries in the IoT

Printed batteries in the IoT

Do Conventional Batteries Have a Role in the IoT?

Market Opportunities for Batteries in the IoT

Key Suppliers of Batteries for the IoT

Eight-Year Forecast of Batteries for the IoT

Energy Harvesting

Overview of Energy Harvesting Power Sources

Energy Harvesting

Solar Sources: Available Materials Sets

Motion Based Energy Harvesting

Motion- and Vibration-Based Energy Harvesting

Market Opportunities for Energy Harvesting in IoT

Key Suppliers of Energy Harvesting Devices for I0T

Eight-Year Forecast of Energy Harvesting Devices for the IoT

Summary of Eight-Year Forecasts of IoT Power Sources

Key Points Made in this Chapter

LIST OF FORECAST EXHIBITS

Summary of Eight-Year Forecasts of IoT Power Sources

Inductive Power Source Market by Application

Thin-Film and Printed Batteries Market by Application

Energy Harvester Market by Application

Summary of Market Value of Power Sources for the IoT by Type

Power Requirements for Sensors in the IoT

Eight-Year Forecast of Inductive Readers and Power Sources for the IoT